Today, we're going to work

with relaxing our thoughts.

So if you haven't already done so,

you can find a comfortable posture.

And invite the eyes to close,

if that feels okay for you.

But you don't have to.

Sometimes closing the eyes when we're

anxious can make us more anxious.

So do what feels comfortable for you.

We'll start by tuning into

the sound of the bell.

Let's take a nice deep breath together.

In through the nose.

And slowly out through the mouth.

Inviting the jaw to soften, so that

the teeth are no longer clenched.

Letting the shoulders be at ease,

as much as they're willing to be.

And letting the belly soften.

And any other part of the body that

might be holding tension or gripping in

even the slightest or subtlest of ways.

We'll settle our attention

on our breathing, similar

to what we did yesterday.

And if you want to place one

hand on your belly, you can.

Now a lot of times when we're

experiencing anxiety, our thoughts

are all over the place and they can

feel really powerful and strong,

like they have control over us.

The tendency is to push those

thoughts or to change them or get

rid of them, or to get mad at them.

We're going to practice

something different here.

Instead of pushing them, we're just

going to watch them as if we were

watching cars driving down the highway

or watching clouds pass through the sky.

So when you're ready, just start

to notice what thoughts are moving

through your mind right now.

No matter how anxious or nervous

or worrisome they may be, you're

just kind of watching them.

Just another thought.

Just another cloud.

Letting your body be totally at ease.

And noticing how you can feel that

sense of groundedness while your

thoughts do whatever they're going

to do, worrying about this or that.

And you just get to go, Oh,

there's another thought.

Hmm.

There's another thought.

You can even smile at them as they pass.

What is it like to be an

observer to your thinking rather

than caught in your thinking?

If the thoughts represent the waves on

top of the ocean, we're just sinking

down a little deeper into the sea.

So that we can look up and sort

of see the waves, but where we are

is much deeper and more settled.

In a moment I will ring the bells to close

our meditation, and when I do just bring

your full presence and focus to the sound

until it dissolves back into silence.

And if your eyes have been closed,

you're welcome to open them now.

And you did a great job today.

So this might've been a new

technique for you, a new way

of relating to your thoughts.

As you go throughout your day and you

notice these thoughts moving through

the mind, see if you can create just

a little bit of space with them.

Not pushing them, not fighting them,

but just watching them as if they

were clouds passing through the

sky, or as if you were eavesdropping

on someone else's conversation.

Try this out.

You could come back to this

meditation again today.

Until then, take care.